20 Minute Sriracha Sauce

Like my label!? LOL

Back before Sriracha was a “thing” – we just called it “red sauce” and squirted it on just about everything, including scrambled eggs.

The original “rooster brand” Huy Fong recipe was so perfect that they had a virtual monopoly at Vietnamese restaurants and competitors didn’t even try to imitate their formula. Fun fact from Forbes: Huy Fong Foods has seen a 20% increase in revenue nearly every year since its founding in 1980.

After the news of the temporary shutdown of Huy Fong operations in Irwindale, California, the people of the Internets went crazy. Apparently, the fumes from cooking thousands of pounds of chiles were becoming unbearable for Huy Fong’s residential neighbors. (We hear they’ve resumed shipping, but I haven’t been able to confirm this.)

It’s actually easier than you think to make your own Sriracha – a food processor and medium pot is all you need. If you’re used to just squeezing the rooster bottle (heehee) for your hot sauce fix, you’ll be shocked at how many more flavor profiles you can get from homemade.

You can make your sauce thinner if you like – run the sauce through a blender to get it less chunky. But I likey mine chunky

While I love the original Huy Fong sauce, it’s missing balance and depth.

Here’s what good flavor translates to – a balance of the 5 S’s:

Salty

Savory

Sour

Spicy

Sweet

I’d also add in a B – bitterness – but people don’t like that “B” word (plus it doesn’t start with an “S” ruining my awesome convenient and catchy teaching moment (eye roll and head shake).

The perfect condiment should have all of these flavor elements. Here’s why this 20-Minute Sriracha recipe that I’ve modified from Nom Nom Paleo Cookbook is perfect:

Salty and Savory: choice of fish sauce, coconut amino or Bragg’s. Not only do these sauces provide a salty flavor, but they all have “umami” which adds savory notes.*

Sour – vinegar

Spicy – chiles. But not too spicy. I like using s combo of hot peppers and mild peppers. If a sauce is too spicy, you can’t taste anything else on your plate.

Sweet – honey, and sweetness of peppers

Plus, the bonus of homemade is that your sauce is so much more vibrant, bright and full flavored. You’ll want this sauce on your eggs in the morning. in your noodle soup, on your meatloaf, in your stir-fries.

*Bragg’s Liquid Aminos is found in health food stores, Whole Foods and most major supermarkets have this too. Look near the BBQ sauces and Worcestershire sauce. Love this stuff. I’ve been using this in place of soy sauce and fish sauce on everything. It’s healthier, non-GMO, gluten-free, non-fermented. Every homemade salad dressing I’ve been making lately has a Bragg’s in it! Good stuff.

*Coconut Aminos is a new ingredient for me. I found it at my local health food store. It’s raw, gluten-free, 100% organic, dairy-free, vegan, soy-free and contains 17 naturally occurring aminos. I like this just as much as Bragg’s. Give it a try!

Big thanks to Nom Nom Paleo Food for Humans Cookbook by my friends Michelle Tam and Henry Fong for another stellar recipe. LOVE this cookbook, I can’t recommend it enough and have purchased copies for my friends.

None of us are Paleo dieters, but the recipes are so versatile and delicious that anyone can benefit from this book! Every recipe has a photo, most with vibrant step by step photos.

20 Minute Sriracha Sauce Recipe Video

20 Minute Sriracha Sauce Recipe

Servings: 3 cupsPrep Time:5 minutesCook Time:15 minutes

Use any type of peppers you want! If you want your sauce red colored - stick to red peppers. My favorite is a combo of red jalapeno or red serrano and mini sweet peppers (the kind you find on veggie trays to eat raw) - smaller and sweeter than bell peppers.

Directions:

STEP 1: In a food processor or high speed blender, add all ingredients and blend until smooth.

STEP 2: In a medium saucepan over high heat, pour the sauce in and cook on high until it begins to boil. Reduce to a simmer and cook for 10-15 minutes. Taste and adjust with additional honey, vinegar or Bragg's (or whatever you're using) if needed. You're looking for a nice balance of flavor. Fry an egg and try a spoonful on it. Tastes wonderful? Turn off heat and allow sauce to cool completely.

STEP 3: Transfer the sriracha sauce to jars. Sriracha will keep for 2 weeks in the refrigerator. Better yet, can them and store in pantry!

You can use any type of hot red pepper you like. I love the jalapeño pepper because it gives just the perfect amount of heat to play with. Green jalapeño is so popular, but red jalapeño (just left on the plant a little longer until it “ripens” is sweeter – think green bell pepper vs red.

You are one of a kind. Thank you so much for this recipe. As you note, Huy Fong has some issues with the local California government. They also make a very delicious chile paste. Would you have a recipe for that?
Last night, I made the crunchy chick peas and they were fabulous! Even after draining and drying them, I used my wife’s hair dryer to ensure they were totally dry. Yes, I’m sure I looked silly, but it worked. I tossed them with salt, garlic powder, onion powder, and some hot Hungarian paprika. The only mistake I made was using only one can of chickpeas, not two because I wanted more. Live and learn.

I made my own chili sauce (not this kind, but another sort) earlier this year and it was SO much better than the store bought. I can’t wait to try this one! Thanks! And I see nothing wrong with your label.

I make my own. Better than store bought for sure. I also grow my own peppers so I let them turn red before picking. I also allow mine to ferment. I have two quarts that have been fermenting since September last year.

My problem is that my store carries dried red jalepenos in a 3 oz bag, not fresh. I tried to guess if 3 oz dry would equal 1/2 lb fresh. The answer is no! Boy it was hot. I doubled the other ingredients in the batch to add to it. I also increased the honey, thought it needed a little more sweet to balance the heat. Lastly ax I don’t care for fish sauce I substituted oyster sauce, which I like better.

Jaden, this looks AMAZING and I love this post. I especially love the fun facts – I did not know that about Huy Fong Foods growth year-by-year. I can see why – I adore Sriracha sauce! To be able to make my own is total awesomeness! Pinned! Thanks for the great recipe!

I loved your Asian chili sauce so much (and had fun playing with different heat sources – chipotle, sweet and hot, etc.) that I’d love to make this. I’ll have to try to talk Publix into stocking those gorgeous red jalapenos first, though. I’ve never seen them for sale. You and I live in the same state, so I would expect that the chains would stock the same veggies, but obviously not, darn it.